Cho Nam-ju et al / 조남주 / 2022 / -

From the international best-selling author of Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 comes this chilling dystopian fable for fans of Netflix's Squid Game. In a country called Town, a doctor named Su is found dead in an abandoned car. There is only one place the police intend to look for her suspected killer: the Saha Estates. Controlled by a secretive organization of ministers, Town is the safest, richest nation in the world. But it is a society clearly divided into the haves and have-nots, and those who have the very least—who aren't even considered citizens—live on the Saha Estates. Residents of Saha must squat in moldy units without plumbing or electricity and can only find work doing harsh labor. For many, the apartment complex is a bleak haven for escaping even bleaker pasts—as it was for Jin-kyung and her brother, Do-Kyung, who showed up one day sopping wet and shivering. No one is shocked when a lowlife like Do-Kyung becomes the main suspect in Su's—a citizen's—murder. But then Do-Kyung disappears. Isolated in a barren Saha unit, Jin-Kyung makes a choice: she will finally confront a system hellbent on erasing her brother's existence. To find him, she must rely on her tightlipped neighbors, from the mysterious janitor known as "Old Man," to Granny Konnim, the community gardener and reluctant midwife, to Woomi, an unwitting test subject at the local clinic. On her quest for the truth, Jin-kyung will uncover a reality far darker than she could have imagined. Written in Cho Nam-Joo's signature sharp prose, brilliantly translated by Jamie Chang, Saha is a chilling portrait of what happens when we finally unmask our oppressors. Source: https://lti.overdrive.com/media/8821979

Cho Nam-ju et al / 조남주 / 2022 / -

From the internationally bestselling author of Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 comes this chilling dystopian fable for fans of Netflix's Squid Game. A National Book Award Finalist hailed as "a social treatise as well as a work of art" (Alexandra Alter, New York Times), Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 announced Cho Nam-Joo as a major literary talent. In her signature sharp prose, brilliantly translated by Jamie Chang, Nam-Joo returns with this haunting account of a neglected housing complex in the shadows of Town: a former fishing village bought out by a massive conglomerate. Town is prosperous and safe―but only if you're a citizen with "valuable skills and assets," which the residents of Saha Estates are not. Disenfranchised and tightlipped, the Saha are forced into harsh labor, squatting in moldy units without electricity. Braiding the disparate experiences of the Saha residents―from the reluctant midwife to the unknowing test subject to the separated siblings―into a powerful Orwellian parable, Nam-Joo has crafted a heartbreaking tale of what happens when we finally unmask our oppressors. source: https://lti.overdrive.com/media/9229022

Cho Nam-ju et al / 조남주 / 2022 / -

There are two classes of people in the Town: L and L2. The ones with citizenship are referred to as Ls, or Citizens. They are above a certain level of financial status with knowledge or skills that the Town requires. The L2s are people without citizenship but have a clean criminal record. After interview and physical examination, they can stay and work for two years in this safest and richest corporate nation on earth. Then there are those below even the L2s, illegal aliens called the saha. They are the immigrants, the disabled, the misfits, victims of violence and poverty who dwell in the decrepit Saha Mansion and are named accordingly. So what happens when a respected young pediatrician is found dead in a parking lot, with evidence of drug overdose and sexual assault, and the prime suspect is her saha boyfriend? A major police crackdown ensues, with the boyfriend quickly arrested and executed, but is he really behind the murder? His sister, Jinkyung, vows to find out the truth, only to discover the disappearance of a saha girl who has been the test subject of the Town Medical Lab. What lies behind the impenetrable walls of the Town, and who are the mysterious seven Premiers who rule it? Eight years in the making, SAHA MANSION is a powerful tale of dystopia and a battle cry for the dispossessed. Cho gives voice to the marginalized and often unseen minority: They are all Kim Jiyoung, every single one of them. source: https://lti.overdrive.com/media/8808503

Cho Nam-ju et al / 조남주 / 2022 / -

From the author of international bestseller Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 '[A]n affecting portrait of people doing their best to survive in a world that would rather pretend they didn't exist.' New York Times In a country called 'Town', Su is found dead in an abandoned car. The suspected killer is presumed to come from the Saha Estates. Town is a privatised country, controlled by a secretive organisation known as the Seven Premiers. It is a society clearly divided into the haves and have-nots and those who have the very least live on the Saha Estates. Among their number is Jin-Kyung, a young woman whose brother, Dok-yung, was in a relationship with Su and quickly becomes the police's prime suspect. When Dok-yung disappears, Jin Ky-ung is determined to get to the bottom of things. On her quest to find the truth, though, she will uncover a reality far darker and crimes far greater than she could ever have imagined. At once a dystopian mystery and devastating critique of how we live now, Saha lifts the lid on corruption, exploitation and government oppression, while, with deep humanity and compassion, showing us the lives of those who, through no fault of their own, suffer at the hand of brutal forces far beyond their control. Praise for Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 'It describes experiences that will be recognisable everywhere. It's slim, unadorned narrative distils a lifetime's iniquities into a sharp punch.' The Sunday Times 'A ground-breaking work of feminist fiction' Stylist 'Along with other socially critical narratives to come out of Korea, such as Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning film Parasite, her story could change the bigger one.' The Guardian 'This witty, disturbing book deals with sexism, mental health issues and the hypocrisy of a country where young women are "popping caffeine pills and turning jaundiced" as they slave away in factories helping to fund higher education for male siblings.' The Independent 'Enthralling and enraging.' Sunday Express 'Cho's moving, witty and powerful novel forces us to face our reality, in which one woman is seen, pretty much, as interchangeable with any other. There's a logic to Kim Jiyoung's shape-shifting: she could be anybody.' Daily Telegraph source: https://lti.overdrive.com/media/8822562